Nine chapters--nine intense essays on personal power and self-transformation. From The Power of Fuck That and the Power of Self-Authority to the Power of Death itself, this compact and contentious volume is a viable antidote to the insulting mediocrity of the Self-Help industry. Inspiring, hard-hitting, and unapologetic, Power Prevails reminds you who you are: "an entity possessing consciousness, a unique and marvelous creature of the universe, a being of vast intelligence, the culmination of millions of years of evolution and a link in an unbroken chain that extends back into primordial prehistory."
from Chapter 1 - The Power of Fuck That
It’s crucial to recognize one vital fact—in these situations that call on the Power of Fuck That, you are the primary oppressor. It isn’t your tyrant of a boss, your dysfunctional spouse, your manipulative parents, your out of control children, your unhealthy friends. It’s not the rude stranger, the disrespectful customer, or the neighbor from hell. It’s not capitalism, socialism, or fascism. It’s not some trauma from the past or an unhappy childhood or the biochemistry of your brain. It’s you. Granted, it’s difficult for the oppression to manifest itself without the aid of others, but ultimately it’s you who give permission for them to treat you like shit. It may be the disease that kills, but it’s the failure of the immune system that’s the real culprit. The assassin is only as effective as the hole in the security system.
from Chapter 3 - The Power of Self-Authority
Virtually all of us spend our lives as subjects in someone else’s kingdom, jockeying for position in someone else’s court, doing the bidding of—benevolent, we hope—dictators. We’re employees and consumers and fans and members of this religious organization and that political party. All our energies are spent reinforcing other people’s regimes, people it’s unlikely we’ll ever even meet, let alone get to know on a personal basis.
from Chapter 7 - The Power of Identity
Quite simply, self-identity is the single most important predictor of what your life is and what it becomes. It is deadly accurate. Compared to your own sense of identity, everything else is unimportant and trivial—your attitude, your faith, your New Age visualization skills. Indeed, these are mere products of your identity. Identity itself is the foundation on which everything else is built. If you do not make changes to you identity, you cannot make changes to your life. Who you are is who, at your very center, you believe you are and not the other way around. You do not discover your true, core nature as much as you choose it.
About Brad Castro
Brad Castro is a poet, novelist, and essayist. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family. For additional self-transformation resources, visit www.CynicSelfHelp.com
Nine chapters--nine intense essays on personal power and self-transformation. From The Power of Fuck That and the Power of Self-Authority to the Power of Death itself, this compact and contentious volume is a viable antidote to the insulting mediocrity of the Self-Help industry. Inspiring, hard-hitting, and unapologetic, Power Prevails reminds you who you are: "an entity possessing consciousness, a unique and marvelous creature of the universe, a being of vast intelligence, the culmination of millions of years of evolution and a link in an unbroken chain that extends back into primordial prehistory."
Brad Castro is a poet, novelist, and essayist. He lives in Austin, Texas with his family. For additional self-transformation resources, visit www.CynicSelfHelp.com